July
2007
Sweets: a Natural Pain-Killer?
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Now here’s an interesting study, as reported at Science Blogs:
The smell of sweet odors helped participants withstand discomfort. Apparently, smelling something sweet specifically increases pain tolerance. Scientists compared three groups, exposing each group to a different smell (sweet, pleasant but not sweet, and unpleasant - civet musk). What’s interesting is that a sweet odor did not actually reduce the pain, but merely the ability to withstand it. There’s likely nothing causal here, as the article points out. We’ve learned - or have been taught - to associate sweets with pleasure.
Orangejuicy’s Flickr Photo (CC)
A marketing tidbit, apropros of sugar: bakeries and cookie shops and even some markets pump sweet scents through the air intentionally.
Technorati Tags: pain, science, medicine
